Contagious Faith: Discover Your Natural Style for Sharing Jesus with Others

By Mark Mittelberg and Lee Strobel

Contagious Faith will prepare you to share God's love with others in a way that's authentic, comfortable, and impactful.

As disciples of Christ, we are called to share the gospel, but few of us are naturally comfortable with evangelism. We wrestle with internal fears, a lack of preparation, and the sense that reaching out to others might force us to act like someone we're not. What if we could find a way to talk about Jesus that fits our personalities, makes us feel confident, and ignites a fire in others?

In Contagious Faith, bestselling author and teacher Mark Mittelberg introduces five approaches to evangelism and helps you determine which of them fit best with your unique personality and style:

• Friendship-Building
• Selfless-Serving
• Story-Sharing
• Reason-Giving
• Truth-Telling

He also explains in a down-to-earth fashion several key skills that will help you talk about Jesus effectively, illustrating his message with real-life accounts of ordinary believers who applied these principles for extraordinary impact.

With inspiring stories, fresh approaches, and timeless biblical wisdom, Contagious Faith will equip you to make a spiritual impact in the lives of the people around you—even in our increasingly resistant culture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Oct 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9780310113294

Mark Mittelberg

Mark Mittelberg is a bestselling author, international speaker, and executive director of the Lee Strobel Center for Evangelism and Applied Apologetics at Colorado Christian University (StrobelCenter.com). Mark was the primary author of the Becoming a Contagious Christian course, translated into 20 languages and used by nearly two million people, and now the all-new Contagious Faith book and video training course.

Book preview

FOREWORD

BY LEE STROBEL

Few things deter people from Christianity as much as hypocritical leaders in the church—that is, speakers and authors whose behind-the-scenes lifestyle is antithetical to what they preach from the pulpit or write about in their books.

What’s the opposite of a hypocrite? My friend Mark Mittelberg.

Most people only know Mark from his global impact as a sought-after speaker and vigorous champion of personal evangelism. He has trained more people to share their faith than anyone else in his generation. He’s considered one of the world’s leading authorities on how Christians can naturally talk about Jesus in a way that’s winsome and attractive. Churches constantly pursue his insights on how they can become more effective in reaching their community with the gospel.

But I’ve known the personal side of Mark for more than three decades. As his close friend, I’ve seen him in countless private moments—in his neighborhood, his home, restaurants, and traveling. And with Mark, what you see in public is what you get in private.

For instance, his friendships in the small Colorado community where he lives has lit the fuse on a mini revival there. As appropriate opportunities have arisen, Mark has faithfully told his neighbors about Jesus, and one by one they have come to faith and been baptized in backyard pools or spas. Then these new believers tell someone else about Jesus, and yet another person is reborn. It’s as if faith were—well, contagious! Which, of course, is the theme of this book.

In these pages, Mark will help liberate your inner evangelist. In other words, authentic Christians have a deep desire to see others receive Jesus as their forgiver and leader, but they tend to shrink back from telling them about the gospel because they’re uncomfortable with stereotypical approaches to proselytizing.

Mark will reveal how God can use you and your personality to reach out with the gospel in ways that are authentic to who God made you to be. It’s an encouraging truth—I don’t have to share my faith like you, and you don’t have to share it like me. You can be you—and God can use you to spread his message of hope and grace to one person at a time.

I’ve seen God use this kind of teaching to transform once-reticent Christians into people who are truly excited about bringing the gospel to friends, neighbors, colleagues, family members, and people they meet along the road of life. Fear dissipates, and Christians become more comfortable in talking about their faith in genuine ways that sync up with their God-given temperament.

Trust me—this book could very well be the launching pad of a newfound life of spiritual adventure for you! In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus urged us to be salt and light in our increasingly desperate world. He was saying we should live in a way that makes people thirst for God and which shines his message of love and redemption into dark areas of despair.

Discover how you can become stronger salt and brighter light for the sake of the gospel and the glory of God. Along the way, you’ll have the time of your life doing it!

OUR CONTAGIOUS CALLING

We were meant to live for so much more . . .

So declares the popular Switchfoot song, Meant to Live. The lyrics echo what we are told both by our hearts and God’s Word—we really were made to live for greater purposes.

More than the typical Christian life. More than just going to school. More than finding a meaningful career. More than the possibility of getting married, having a family, or someday settling down and retiring. And yes, even more than finding God’s forgiveness, going to church, and serving others—great as those are.

We were made to know God but also to introduce him to others. To share the love and truth of Jesus with the people around us. To reach them for him. To help them find and follow Christ—and then, in turn, to assist them in helping others find and follow Christ as well.

As the Father has sent me, Jesus declared, I am sending you (John 20:21). And he added, You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Our faith is not just for ourselves. It’s not to be hoarded. It’s meant to be spread to others. To be infectious. Contagious.

Why Contagious?

It’s a word we’ve been hearing a lot lately. The world has been swept up in a pandemic, and we’ve been bombarded with warnings designed to prevent us from catching this highly communicable virus.

Stay home, stay safe. Wear a mask. Stop the spread. In such an environment, there’s no more troublesome thought than the fear that you might be contagious.

But amid the cautions to cover coughs and squelch sneezes, I’m reminded of times in my life when I caught something that I couldn’t resist—and didn’t really want to. Times, for example, when I felt down and defeated, but then a friend’s contagious optimism inspired me. There’s contagious enthusiasm. Contagious excitement. Contagious laughter.

Contagious isn’t always a bad thing. It describes something irresistible, something you can’t help but catch, and something you have the potential to spread.

What if our faith were contagious? What if instead of quietly clinging to our relationship with Christ and succumbing to the societal sentiment that faith should be private, we realized that faith is for sharing? That Jesus came not just for me and you but to be the Savior of the world—and that he wants us to share the Good News about him with others?

When Jesus gave the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18–20—when he told us to go into all the world to make disciples—he was giving us a mission to share a contagious faith. He wanted us to intentionally go into our circles of influence and beyond, telling anyone who would listen about his love and truth. And our goal (borrowing Merriam-Webster’s definition of contagious) is to excite similar emotions and conduct in others ¹—and, I would add, beliefs as well.

In so doing, God will use us to infectiously spread our faith to a few other people who will, in turn, carry it to others, who will then relay it to still more. In this way, what Jesus unleashed through his handful of disciples on a hillside two millennia ago will be transmitted through us, and through those we reach, until it ultimately expands to the ends of the earth. In fact, Jesus promised that before he returns, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations (Matthew 24:14).

It’s a lofty vision, but also an exceedingly important and fulfilling one. And it’s for all of us who name Christ as our forgiver and leader. More than that, it’s a thrilling journey—the most exciting and rewarding thing we can do with our lives.

That said, I understand—you’re not so sure about your role in all of this . . . yet!

At one time I wasn’t sure about my role in it either. But read on, friend. You’re in for a wonderful journey. Dare I say, an unexpected adventure.

CHAPTER 1

REACHED BY GOD TO REACH OTHERS

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

—COLOSSIANS 4:5

Why me? I wondered.

Why would God ask someone like me—who just weeks earlier had been recklessly partying and resisting him—to be the one to talk about spiritual stuff to someone like Peggy?

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to encourage her. We had been friends in high school, we were on the drama team and in a few of the same plays, and we’d even been at some parties together. But now my life had changed radically. I’d trusted in Christ, though I wasn’t quite sure what that was going to look like.

Peggy had recently started visiting a Bible study that I attended, and I’d been sensing that God wanted me to talk to her about it. I couldn’t get away from the concern that she was becoming acclimated to our Christian culture but missing the central point of what it means to become a true follower of Christ.

But, again, why me? I barely knew what I was doing. I was only nineteen years old and had put my trust in him less than two months earlier. I had not been trained to share my faith. I hadn’t been through any evangelism courses. I felt like a novice when it came to discussing God’s activity in my life . . . because, well, I was a novice. I just knew that I needed to do so, and I was willing to try—even if it meant feeling awkward in the process.

An Unexpected Adventure

As I was crossing the Eighth Street Bridge in our hometown, I saw Peggy walking alone on the snow-packed sidewalk. I was surprised that anyone would be out for a stroll on such a frigid December day, but I believed this could be the opportunity God had been pointing me toward.

I pulled my car to the side of the road and rolled down the passenger window to say hello (yes, we actually had to roll down our windows in those days). We chatted for a few minutes, and then I mentioned the study group. She told me she was enjoying it, loved meeting so many new friends, and was learning from the discussions.

I’m glad you’re growing in your understanding of God and the Bible, I said, as I took a deep breath and tried to sound more confident than I actually felt. But there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.

What’s that? Peggy replied.

I’m curious to know . . . I said, trying to muster the courage to get to the heart of the matter, . . . whether you’ve ever really asked for Jesus’s forgiveness and committed your life to him?

No, I’ve never done that, Peggy said. And nobody has ever told me I needed to!

Trading Places

Let’s hit the pause button and trade places. You’re talking to your friend and suddenly the conversation shifts from breezy banter to a serious spiritual exchange. She has just told you she’s never really understood the offer of the gospel and has never asked to receive salvation through Christ.

What would you say to your friend? Would you be prepared to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15) and to explain the core message of the Christian faith? Or would you change the subject and talk about something less intimidating? Would you say something about how important the topic is and suggest raising it at a future Bible study? Would you declare a timeout and call in a professional—maybe a pastor, or at least a more seasoned follower of Christ? Or might you be tempted to suddenly pretend there was an urgent matter elsewhere that you needed to attend to?

Stumbling Forward

Any of those options might have been attractive to me at that point—except for the nagging awareness I had that God had seemingly brought us to this moment and wanted to work through our conversation despite my insecurities.

I’m not sure what I was so afraid of. Maybe I was worried that Peggy would think I was judging her, or that I was trying to push her into a commitment she wasn’t ready to make. Or perhaps it was the very real possibility that she would be open and ready to trust in Christ—but I wouldn’t say things clearly and instead would squander the opportunity. Whatever the source of my trepidation, it turned out to be an unwarranted concern.

Well, I replied, feeling a tinge of Holy Spirit-inspired confidence, "you really do need to ask Jesus for his forgiveness and leadership in your life." Then I started doing my best to explain what that means, including telling her how I had given my life to Christ just weeks earlier.

To my relief, she seemed receptive—but she also let me know she needed to get back home soon for a family dinner. She quickly added that she’d like to continue talking later that evening, if I’d be willing to swing by. I said I would, and I silently prayed that God would move in her heart, opening her to the gospel.

God Worked—In Spite of Me

When we picked up the discussion later that night, I found out that God had been working in Peggy’s life in a variety of ways. She had a formal church background but had walked away from it in junior high. Now, after graduating from high school and spending a summer working at Yellowstone National Park, Peggy had a renewed interest in spiritual matters. In fact, God was speaking to her through a Bible she had stolen from a hotel room in Yellowstone (not realizing that the Gideons put them there hoping people will steal them); through several of her Christian friends; through our Bible study; through a service at a church the night before; and now through our interactions.

By the time our conversation was over, Peggy was ready to ask Jesus for his forgiveness and guidance in her life. With my heart beating fast, I did my fledgling best to lead her in a coherent prayer of repentance and faith. In spite of my inadequacies, the Holy Spirit worked in a powerful way—and Peggy’s life and eternity were changed. What a thrill it was for me to help seal her relationship with God!

And how exhilarating it will be for you to be used in similar ways—whether you feel up to the task yet or not!

God Will Work through You

Deep down we all want our lives to count for things that last. But think about this: the only things in this world that we can take with us into eternity are people.

Wouldn’t you like to be used by God to impact people’s lives and eternities? It can happen. But what will it take? What are some of the key truths we’ll need to embrace in order to move forward in the adventure of reaching others with the best news the world has ever known?

Let’s look at some evangelism essentials. I urge you to approach these prayerfully, asking God’s Spirit to guide you concerning any areas you might need to reflect on, pray over, or shore up in your life. These are foundational for your journey toward having a more contagious faith.

Essentials for a Contagious Faith

This Is God’s Mission

It’s vital for us to understand and embrace this first component. Reaching people with the gospel was not our idea. It’s not something we came up with and are now asking God to help us accomplish. No, it’s the opposite. It was the heavenly Father who so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

It was that Son, Jesus, who willingly came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), and then told us to go into our world to do the same (Matthew 28:18–20). Jesus also promised us the Holy Spirit, from whom we would receive power, so that we could become his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

So, God’s mission of rescuing wayward sons and daughters has now become our mission—and fortunately he promises to be with us always, even to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

Pastor and author Henry Blackaby reminds his listeners that we need to watch to see where God is working and join Him in His work. Well, God’s work is clearly to reach and redeem people who are far from him. We can have supreme confidence that we are joining him in doing just that, knowing that his gospel is still the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).

The God of the universe is already on a mission to seek and save the lost—and we have the privilege of joining him in his mission.

This Mission Is for Every Believer

It’s tempting to think that God’s challenge to reach a lost world is a task that’s reserved for elite Christians—those with special gifts or training. But that isn’t the case. We are all members of the church to which Jesus gave the Great Commission. Specifically, when he locked eyes with his disciples in Matthew 28:19–20, he was looking through them at us—all of his followers throughout time.

Go and make disciples of all nations, he told us, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And, as we saw earlier, in Acts 1:8 he added, you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Yes, these words are for you and me—and for everyone who is a genuine follower of Jesus. They are God’s exciting invitation into a divine partnership to change our world. We can’t do this without God, but for reasons he doesn’t explain, he chooses to do this with and through us.

You’ll often feel like you’re out of your league. We all do. There are times when you’ll be nervous and tempted to keep your mouth shut. I get it. Your heart will be beating fast and your palms will sweat. Join the club. But God knows how to help us, to use us, and to change people’s eternities through the divinely directed efforts we’ll make.

We Must Have It before We Can Give It Away

There are plenty of nominal (in name only) Christians who attend our churches and even our classes and small groups. Researcher George Barna and his team, who have studied this phenomenon for decades, have found that, on average, about half of the people who sit in churches each week have never truly trusted Christ. This is a sobering reality—even a frightening one.

More than that, it’s a great reason for self-examination. Paul admonished us as members of the church to examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). Our salvation depends on knowing and trusting the Savior. But it’s also critical to the contagion of our faith. After all, you can’t give away what you don’t genuinely have. As my friend Steve Macchia explains in